Accurascale Review of 2023

[Warbonnet]

So, another year passes as we reach the end of 2023, and it has been our busiest and best year to date. 2023 has been a huge year for us, with so many new models delivered to market as we caught up on the models delayed due to the pandemic, we grew our team further with some new recruits joining our ranks, and we announced some new goodies too. 

So, pour yourself a drink, sit back and join us as we look back on 2023!

New Model Arrivals

Mark 5 Coaches

Just missing out on our 2022 arrival update as they arrived at our warehouse just before Christmas last year, our Caledonian Sleeper and TPE Mark 5 coach sets went into squadron service on layouts in January of this year. Another massive milestone reached for us, our first coach model landed on the market to great acclaim among modellers and the modelling media alike. 

Despite a very large production run, both sets of coaches sold out very quickly, with the sleeper coaches in particular now selling for a premium. We will most certainly produce another run in the future, so keep an eye out for updates. They also look great with our lovely Class 92s, especially running in full 16 coach formation on Making Tracks 3! 

Class 37

 

April saw the arrival that many, many of you had been waiting for, as our Class 37s began to arrive in stock. Probably one of the most hotly anticipated locomotive releases in recent years, The first arrivals of our modernised Class 37/4s and then Scottish 'Car' headlight locos arrived in April and May to a sea of froth and approval.

Such was the success of our Class 37, we literally had to stop selling them on pre-order as the production order for the factory swelled ever bigger. It is certainly by far the biggest production run of a locomotive we have ever undertaken and such as the demand it took over 12 months to finish them all. We were delighted by the backing that you, the British modelling public gave us, that we placed the rather substantial production order with confidence.

Now, a few months later we are sold out of all but two running numbers, both of which are in single digits availability. Grab them to see what the fuss is about below, or check out our retail partners who have also indicated that they're practically sold out too!

Buy Your Class 37 Here!

Chaldron Run 2

Due to the popularity of our first run of Chaldron waggons, we announced a second run of the genesis of our "Powering Britain" range in January. Delivered in Q2, four new packs made up the second main range run, with extra special edition packs announced for Locomotion Models. 

We still have some in stock too, so check them out via the link below for the same great price as run one, just £44.99 per triple pack with 10% off when you buy two packs or more!

Order Your Chaldrons Here

New And Improved MDO/MDV and MDW Wagons

Also announced in January was our second run of MDO and MDV wagons, this time joined by the MDW variant for the first time. Acting on feedback from finescale modellers, we made tooling alterations to the chassis of both wagons to ensure that regauging to EM and P4 was a more straightforward process than our first batch. 

These wagons arrived in stock in the Autumn and have gone down particularly well among modellers, especially now those MDW scrap trains can be re-created in miniature. We still have stock remaining of all types, which you can order via your local stockist or below direct.

Order Your 21 Ton Mineral Wagons Here

Coil A Wagons Run 2

Joining our ranks for a second run in 2023 was our lovely little Coil A wagons, covering the SFV and the SFW TOPS codes of these interesting pioneers of British Rail steel coil carrying wagons. As per the MDO and MDV wagons, they received suitable chassis tweaks to improve the conversion process to finescale EM and P4 gauges. These wagons also arrived in the Autumn and we still have some stock left on our website. Check out your local Accurascale stockist too for availability. 

Order Your Coil A Wagons Here

Siphon G

Our first Great Western model of 2023 arrived in mid May, as our hotly anticipated Siphon G Non Passenger Coaching Stock landed at our warehouse. As ever, we took our 'Accurascale Attitude' to this model and covered an extensive variety of detail variations which the Syphons saw during their long and varied career from the 1930s to the 1980s in order to create the ultimate model of these interesting prototypes and take steam era rolling stock to a new level. Following the feedback we have received on these that goal was achieved, with the high level of detail but robust construction going down particularly well with modellers.

We are getting close to sell out on some running numbers already, but still have some stock left if you fancy adding some to your fleet. Click on the link below to browse the range!

Pre-order Your Siphon Gs Here

FNA-D Nuclear Flask Wagons

Our first all new tooled wagon for 2024, the FNA-D nuclear flask wagons arriving into stock in early July. Produced with the vital assistance of WH Davis, who built the real wagons, our FNA's were announced at the 2022 GETS show and scopped the "Best OO Gauge Wagon of The Year" at the Hornby Mag awards at GETS 2023! 

Proving to be a very popular twin pack for our plethora of DRS Class 37s, and will continue to with our forthcoming DRS Class 66 as well as other current DRS traction, we have a limited supply left with packs A and B completely sold out. Check out the other packs below!

Browse The FNA-D Range Here

78xx Manor Locomotives

August saw the arrival of our second all-new locomotive in 2023 and one that was hotly anticipated by many corners of the hobby. It was of course, the much heralded arrival of our first steam locomotive, the 78xx Manor Class locomotives. 

Keen to see what we would do with steam following our initial focus of diesel and electric locomotives, many were impressed by our approach to steam, with the high use of diecast for construction of the loco along with our attention to detail, with a wide range of detail variation in both locomotive and tenders available to comprehensively cover the long career of these attractive and charismatic locomotives. 

Our Manors arrived across three batches stretching from Autumn into Winter, and most running numbers are now sold out, with just 5% of the full production run now left in stock. Check out your local retailer, or below for final stocks while you still can!

Browse The Manor Range Here

New Announcements

Deltic Run 2

During our "take-over" of World of Railways during late January we announced a second run of our ever popular Deltics. Five new identities/livery combinations have been devised and the ever popular Porterbrook purple (no, seriously, the demand for it is incredible!) 9016 "Gordon Highlander" make up run two, with four of the six locomotives being stocked by retailers for the first time.

Currently in production, the Deltics are envisaged to be with us in Q2 of 2024. Pre-order via your local stockist, or browse the range, including Accurascale Exclusives 9016 and D9000 in as-preserved mainline condition when it operated for Virgin XC in the late 1990s below

Browse Deltic Range Here

 Mark 2c Coaches

Following on from our announced Mark 2b coaches (currently on a ship and heading our way!) we decided to plug another gap in British Rail coaching stock and announce our range of Mark 2c coaches. Again, never produced as a high quality model in Ready-to-Run format previously, it proved to be a very popular choice among modellers, who have been crying out for this variant of the Mark 2 family for many years, especially the TSOT! Currently in manufacture, these coaches are due in Q2 2024.

These coaches are currently sold out direct from our website, but check your local stockist for availability and keep an eye on our website once the coaches arrive for any additional availability. 

 Class 66

Our first new locomotive announcement of 2023 came at Model Rail Scotland. Keen to make a big splash at the show which we sponsored for the first time, we unveiled the news of our 'Genetically Modified' sheds, revealing that we had taken over the tooling of these models from our friends at Hattons and widened the tooling suite to account for new variants and bring them in line with our other locomotives.

The reception to our 66 evolution has been spectacular, with modellers looking forward to what we do with the most numerous locomotives currently operating on the network today. We are even using the model to give back to some worthy causes, which you can read about a little later on...

Pre-order your Class 66, currently in production and due in late Q1 via the link below!

Pre-order Your Class 66 Here

 J67/J68/J69 "Buckjumpers"

Our second locomotive announcement for 2023 came at the London Festival Of Railway Modelling at Alexandra Palace as we unveiled our second steam locomotive; the J67/J68/J69 "Buckjumper family in 00 gauge!

Also our first tank loco, these cute little tank engines feature all the detail differences you could possibly imagine on a British steam locomotive with a rather long career network, so gains a tooling suite to match. It probably explains why they have never been done to this extent by a Ready-to-Run manufacturer before, but like to put it on the line and cover as much as we can for variations and details craved by today's railway modellers. 

We're currently awaiting decorated samples which we will be keen to show off in the new year! In the meantime, you can browse the range, including two Accurascale Exclusives via the link below ahead of a Q2 2024 release

Pre-order Your Buckjumper Here

Class 37 Run 2

Demand for our Class 37s proved to be so colossal this year that we had to announce our second production run before the first batch had even arrived into stock. Thankfully, we were fully prepared for such eventualities that we had a nice, diverse range of locos across several eras from the 1960s to present to cover a wealth of modelling interests. 

From the much in-demand WR Class 37s with their unique lamp brackets to some modern colour with HN Rail and Colas, not to mention some 80s/90s splendour, our second run is already sold out direct but retailers will still have some availability. 

Production is almost complete too, so look forward to these bad boys towards the end of Q1 2024!

16 Ton Mineral Wagons

Our big wagon range announcement of the Autumn was the Accurascale take on the humble but critical 16 ton mineral wagons in OO/4mm. Covering new ground as well as offering a new generation on what has gone before, the ubiquitous 16 tonner was an essential component in our "Powering Britain" range of coal wagons throughout eras.

We went on to reveal decorated samples, including various colourful packs for industrial railway usage towards the end of this year, as they shape up nicely ahead of release in 2024! 

In the meantime, you can get your pre-orders in for these beauties via the link below, or via your local stockists!

Pre-order the 16 ton mineral wagon range

 Ruston 88DS - Our First O Gauge Locomotive

In October we announced our very first O gauge locomotive, the Ruston and Hornsby 88DS diesel mechanical shunter at the Great Electric Train Show at Milton Keynes. 

While many in the 7mm end of the hobby expected us to go big with our first announcement, we were keen to produce a locomotive that is affordable, long lasting and of use to small layout operations as well as large set ups. Our Ruston can even create the inspiration for a whole layout idea on its own, with their multitude of livery applications allowing you to create a whole new layout idea.

We are currently awaiting decorated samples of these little stunners, which once again cover a multitude of detail variants as per the real thing. Pre-order via your local stockist, or below!

Pre-order your O Gauge Ruston 88DS Here!

 ECC CDA Wagons

Following the success of our first run of CDA wagons in later EWS and DB guises, we have been inundated with requests to produce these wagons in their iconic original livery of ECC quarries, complete with blue cradle, tarp and of course the famous branding on each side. We finally answered these requests in November and unveiled a line up of packs with various running numbers, launching with decorated samples. 

Pre-orders for these packs have been rather high to say the least, and production has begun, so make sure you get your pre-order in soon via your local stockist or direct below to avoid disappointment. Perfect for our Class 50s like 50 149 and of course some of our future Class 37s!

Pre-Order Your ECC CDAs Here!

GWR 57xx, 67xx and 8750 Class Pannier Tanks

We always reserve a big announcement around the annual Warley show at the NEC, and this November was no different as we dropped our second steam locomotive announcement of 2023; the Panniers!

Revealed with first samples already in hand, our take on one of the most numerous locomotive classes ever to run in Britain went down a storm, with demand being sky high for these beautiful tank engines. Once again, we take "The Accurascale Way" in our approach, covering a wealth of differing detail variants across the life of these locos in GWR, BR, and of course being us, post BR careers in industrial and preservation. 

We are still on the testing and fettling phase with these locos, but we do suggest that you get your pre-order in very soon to avoid disappointment via your local stockist, or direct via our website.

Browse the AccuraPannier Range

Progress Reports

Of course, some of our projects announced in 2022 were not delivered in 2023, but we have progressed all of them to further stages of completeness, and shared progress reports about them over the past 12 months. They include:

Class 31 - In production with first batch due in Q1 2024

SR Banana Vans - Currently on high seas and due in our warehouse in the coming weeks!

BR Mark 2b Coaches - Currently on high seas and due in our warehouse in the coming weeks!

Class 50 - Decorated samples recently received with more on the way for assessment.

Class 89 - Decorated samples received, production now underway

Mark 1 Suburban Coaches - Production underway

NER 20T Hoppers - Decorated Samples due early 2024.

You can keep up to date on all further updates on these projects by following our Project Status tracker, and of course subscribing to our email newsletter and social media channels such as Facebook. Whenever we have a new update, each is updated along with our "What's New" section under the "News" tab on our website.

Check Out The Project Status Page Here

Additions to The 'A' Team

Richard Watson - Digital Manger

Joining our ranks in late February, Richard joined the accurascale family as our digital and events manager, focusing on content for our social media channels, website and our catalogues, plus representing us at shows across the country.

Having spent several years as the Associate Editor at Hornby Magazine, Richard has been at the heart of the model railway industry, and of course, is well known on YouTube for his "New Junction" channel.'

Alex Carpenter - Project Manager

Our Accurascale family grew ever stronger in May as Alex Carpenter joined us in the role of Project Manager.

Alex will be familiar to many within the hobby through "ABC Workshops", features with Rail Express Modeller or from his time at Bachmann Europe.

He has also taken the plunge into real train ownership, realising a life long ambition with the purchase of HST powercar '43025', which has been gaining some TLC in his spare time and will have some exciting updates in its own right in 2024, so keep an eye out for that.

Over the past 7 months Alex has already put his stamp on several Accurascale models and we look forward to seeing more of his handiwork in 2024 and beyond!

Raising Money For Special Causes

Class 66 Special Edition To Raise £10,000 For Prostate Cancer UK

We have always looked to work with worthy causes as part of our Corporate-Social Responsibility and in the past we have been working with many great preservation groups as they aid us in the development of our models. This year we have taken it further, with the opportunity of producing our new Class 66 locomotive to support two brilliant charities who also carry an important message to us all.

The first fundraiser was launched when we staged our "Take Over" of Pete Waterman's "Making Tracks 3" at Chester Cathedral back in early August, as we revealed an Accurascale Exclusive model of 66 769 in Prostate Cancer UK livery as currently operated by GBRf, with a view to raise £10,000 for this brilliant cause. 

Of course, this donation does not happen without you, the British outline model buying public digging deep and putting your hands in your pockets, which we were delighted to see you doing so. As a result, the loco is long sold out and once the models arrive in stock in the new year we will be presenting a cheque to Prostate Cancer UK for £10,000!

Class 66 Special Edition To Raise For Samaritans 

TThe eagle-eyed among you were quick to spot that the current Freightliner livery did not make up the launch line-up of our Class 66s when we unveiled them back in February. 

That's because we had a very special release in mind, which turned out to be our last launch of 2023!

66415 "You Are Never Alone" was so named by Freightliner to heighten awareness to the services provided by Samaritans to help prevent suicide, particularly among railway staff. We thought it was only fitting that we should reproduce this loco in OO gauge and again look again for your help to raise another £10,000 for a very worthy cause. Launched once again at Making Tracks 3, this time at Blackmere Village in December, it has proved to be a resounding hit with over 65% of the locos pre-sold at the time of writing. 

Without your help these donations would not be possible, so thank you very much for digging deep and ordering these locos. 

Pre-order Your Class 66 415 "You Are Never Alone" Here

 We Go To China To Visit Our Factories

In October 2023, a crack team of Accurascale officials (and Fran, who just sweated a lot in the heat) were dispatched to China to visit some of the factory facilities we use and to negotiate the next chapter of our business by securing additional capacity, along with improving our workflows to reduce waiting times for customers. Thankfully this proved very successful indeed, with even more production capacity coming our way over the next few years as we look to grow further and deliver lots more exciting new models to market. 

We also got to see several of our projects underway and at various stages of production, including our Class 66s and the second run of Class 37s. Naturally, this afforded a photo opportunity which demonstrated Fran not having a clue what he was looking at, and Steve, our Production Manager, very much knowing what he was looking at.

We also got to review the rigorous processes and precision methods our factories work to too, viewing all stages of designing one of our models. From receiving our CAD files and project packs, to tooling, injection moulding, to painting and assembly, we were able to see all the processes occur over several of our models. It really brought home the huge amount of talent, skill and capabilities that our factories have in other to create our models. As we have said, numerous times in the past; they are the very best railway modellers around! 

This has been something we had been planning to do for several years, but for the COVID disruption to world travel. We will certainly be back on a regular basis in the future to continue to produce the very best models on the market.

It was bl***y hot though!

Sponsorship

After our early years of receiving fantastic support from shows and magazines to help get the Accurascale message to the masses, we have now grown sufficiently in size as a business where we can repay that support by sponsoring some of the larger shows that we now attend. We kicked off with our sponsorship of Model Rail Scotland in February along with the Great Electric Train Show at Milton Keynes in October. We also did our first sponsorship of the Warley Show in November, sponsoring the transport of the centrepiece locomotive to the show.

We also support the Dublin and Wexford Model Railway shows along with our sister brand IRM in Ireland. 

As well as that, we were honoured to sponsor and support Pete Waterman's "Making Tracks" project this year and we will continue to support these projects in 2024, while also supporting other shows too that we attend. 

 Awards

We are genuinely lost for words here, and certainly for those that won't make us sound big-headed in any way. All we can say is thank you so much to every single one of you who gave us your vote in 2023. It was our most successful year for awards ever, winning Manufacturer of the Year across all three major bodies, and some from our specialist fields too like our Scottish modelling friends.

We've listed below the awards we picked up in 2023

BRM Awards 

Gold Medals

Deltic - Diesel/Electric Locomotive of The Year

Chaldrons - Wagon of The Year

Class 92 Pantograph - Innovation of The Year

OO Gauge Manufacturer of The Year

Overall Manufacturer of The Year

Silver Medals

Class 92 - 2nd Place Diesel and Electric Locomotive of The Year

HYA/IIA Hoppers - 2nd Place Wagon of The Year

Bronze Medal

HAA Range of MGR Hoppers - 3rd Place Wagon of The Year

Model Rail Awards

Overall Manufacturer of The Year

OO Manufacturer of The Year

Deltic OO Diesel/Electric Loco of The Year

Wagon of the Year - HAA Family 

Hornby Magazine Awards 2023

OO Locomotive Of The Year

1st - Class 37

2nd - 78xx Manor

3rd - Class 92

OO Wagon of The Year

1st - FNA-D Wagons

2nd - PFA Wagons With Nuclear Loads

3rd - Chaldron Wagons

Manufacturer of The Year - Accurascale!

Once again, thank you so much for your support and votes. We know we can always do better, further improve and strive to take the next step forward too, and we will continue to do so. However, to get recognition in this way from you, the modelling public means so much to a small company like ours (yes, we are still the definition of a small company, we just have some big ideas and goals we want to achieve by building a range of models to be the best out there).

These awards mean we work even harder, as after all, getting to the top is one thing, staying there is even harder to do. With this in mind, wait till you see what we have in store for 2024, and even 2025 as we are currently working on behind the scenes.

If you made it this far into the blog, then well done! You must be due another drink, so stick the kettle on, pour a pint, or whatever your tipple of choice may be, as we raise a glass/cup and wish you all a very happy new year! We hope 2024 brings you all the good fortune in railway modelling and life, and keep your eye on what we have in store for you! 

We would like to thank you all for your support during the past 12 months, digging deep and purchasing our models, spreading the accurascale word to others who may not know about us yet, and your feedback on what we have produced to date. We would also like to thank our retailers, who have promoted us to their customers this year, with special mention to AGR Models, Great Eastern Models, Kernow Model Railway Centre, Rails of Sheffield and the Severn Valley Railway who hosted us throughout the year too at their open days and events!

Wishing you all a very happy and peaceful new year from the Accurascale Team, and here's to 2024. There's some really nice models to look forward to in the new year...

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